Eli Melnick is a regular guest on the APA`s Lemon Aid Car Show, and owner of APA Start Auto Electric, a repair shop accredited by the APA for many years. He provided his insight on the new Ontario safety inspection standards.

An overhaul of the Safety Inspection Standard has been long overdue. This is the first phase of the initiative which will ultimately incorporate improvements such as electronic data entry and supporting photographs just like the current Drive Clean test.

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario’s goal was to formalize and standardize the inspection procedure to eliminate the grey areas as much as possible: the less room for interpretation by the inspecting technician the more consistent and reliable will the results be. To that end, the new inspection procedure requires the following measurements to be recorded on an inspection form:

Thickness of brake parts subject to wear

Tire pressure (if low) and tread depth.

Fuel level (in case of a fuel leak when the tank is filled later).

Warning lights (on dash) operation

A test-drive is now mandatory to evaluate steering, suspension and brake system performance. The airbag system has to be functional as do the speedometer and odometer. The requirement for minimum tire tread has been strengthened and the rules for windshield cracks have been clarified.

Contrary to what was written previously, engine oil leaks are not part of the inspection standard. The new improvements notwithstanding, this is still a very basic, mainly visual inspection for compliance. We encourage purchasers of used vehicles to have them inspected by their own trusted technician for a more comprehensive evaluation of the vehicle’s condition.